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House bars visitors in wake of flu pandemic, October 7, 1918

On this day in 1918, the public galleries ringing the floor above the U.S. House were closed in response to the “Spanish” influenza pandemic that was sweeping the globe.

An estimated 50 million people, about 3 percent of the world’s population, died of the disease — about 500,000 in the United States alone. Some 500 million, or fully a third of the people in the world, were infected but survived.

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POLITICO 44

Washington, swelled by an influx of government workers during World War I, was particularly hard-hit, and its medical facilities stretched beyond capacity. About 400 deaths were reported in the District of Columbia during the second week of October; 730 the week after.

During an abbreviated session on Oct. 7, with many lawmakers absent because of sickness, Democratic Rep. Henry Rainey of Illinois addressed the House. The nine-term congressman — and future speaker — argued that the galleries should be closed to prevent the spread of the disease.

“Mr. Speaker, it is a matter of common knowledge that an epidemic of alarming proportions is prevailing throughout the country,” Rainey said. “Out of an abundant precaution, the Senate has ordered the galleries closed, which action, I understand, meets with the approval of the medical authorities. And so I ask unanimous consent that the speaker be instructed to close the galleries of this House.”

No one objected. Congress continued to operate, but on a restricted schedule. Until mid-October, both chambers often were in recess, punctuated by brief pro forma sessions that lacked quorums needed to conduct business.

Closure of the House and Senate galleries, an extraordinary step, lasted an unusually long time. They reopened on Nov. 4 — after the flu had largely run its course in the nation’s capital.